I recently signed up for my first half-marathon, without really realising how much preparation and endurance would be needed. After telling all my friends and family I’d signed up, consequently making it harder to back out, I had to start training and fundraising.

Luckily, I wasn’t alone. I received a number of personalised and timely emails from my chosen charity, which contributed to my overall experience. From the screenshot below, you can get a feel of my Race for Life automated lifecycle journey and the dedicated information it contained.

The emails varied from a instant personalised confirmation of my event (encouraging me to share the news on social media) to handy training tips and reminders before the day.

Once the half-marathon was over and my weary legs had recovered, I received congratulatory emails thanking me for participating and asking for feedback on the overall event.

What made this automated lifecycle journey so engaging to me as a subscriber?

This overall lifecycle of campaigns provide great examples of how charities can reach out to their recipients, whether they’re fundraisers, regular donors or newsletter subscribers.

Timely and relevant content wins every time – wherever a contact is in their journey, make sure the campaign is tailored for them. Information about the course or running tips would be redundant the day after the event!

Personalisation is key – use the information and data provided by your subscribers to populate the email. Try inserting first names, event details or fundraising amounts into images for example, to truly cater the email to each individual.

Automate the lifecycle – drip feed contacts through a pre-defined journey so they will be kept in the loop at each and every stage of their journey. Experiment with the Automation Program Builder to create a fundraising or donor lifecycle.

Encourage social sharing – use social media to invite recipients to share their fundraising efforts, details about events or real time updates on the day.

Keep them coming back for more – once their fundraising total is reached or the event is over, don’t sit back and relax. Use this time to get feedback and invite people back for the event next year whilst the momentum is still strong!

Adestra have been empowering their clients to maximize marketing ROI through email-driven technology for over 13 years. Our flexible account structure, obsession with customer success, and award-winning service have gained the trust of global and growing brands alike.

We were founded on the principle that marketing success takes more than technology, and that’s why customer service is at the heart of our business. But don’t just take our word for it: Adestra are winners of the 2017 UK Institute of Customer Service Customer Focus award. We’re not just Software as a Service, we’re Software AND a Service®.